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While We're Gone: Australasia
5 Million Years in the future...and it seems the entire world's population is trying to play it cool, 'cause this world's gotten a hell of a lot colder! Yes, a new Ice Age has put the world in a colder grip than Charlton Heston with a shotgun! Now with those obligatory references out of the way, we now take you to a never-before-seen side of this world: The land down under! And man, if you thought the wildlife was odd/life-threatening before, just stand back and read this bit! In 5 million years time, Australia has moved north and collided with New Guinea and parts of Indonesia, pushing them northwestwards and causing them to fuse into Southeast Asia. In short, Australia's just been unintentionally inducted into the Asia family along with New Guinea, India, and pretty much all of Indonesia. As you may have guessed, this has caused a complete overhaul in what lives on this freaky little paradise, and is now aptly christened: Australasia! And with a new landmass comes whole new species, and whole new challenges to life. See, while still far away from both poles in terms of coldness, the jungles are now little more than scrubby woodland, and most of the more recognizable species have disappeared. Most notably, the big cats like the tigers, the several forest-dwelling marsupials, and even the cuddly koala are sadly long gone. But in their place are species we can hardly comprehend today! Oh, and for those wondering, the scrubland habitat's mostly on Australia itself, the rest of the Australasia peninsula is still at least somewhat jungle-like in terms of ecology. But for the sake of familiarity, we'll start with an old favorite, and one that integrated surprisingly well: the Punchaballoo! Called that for the ruckus it makes defending its territory, these hopping wallaby descendants live in small mobs, are found usually found in the more wooded areas of Australasia, and communicate through a method used by most jungle creatures. That which being a small, inflating sack connected to their vocal chords that amplifies their calls. Said calls usually sound like a low, sheep-like gargling, and can travel up to 15 kilometers. Eating from ferns and berries, they travel to the best fruiting bushes and trees to find food. During mating season, they carry out their courtship by doing a mix between their usual resonant call and a sort of dance-hop that, if the female's impressed, the two mate. At a certain age, males periodically leave the mob to mingle with others and to diversify the gene pool and prevent inbreeding. However, it's not all serenades and berries for these marsupials; for a rather vicious predator lurks in these scrublands and forests, intent on tearing our dear little friends limb from limb! This long, voracious predator is an old nemesis of marsupials everywhere: a goanna (a.k.a. monitor lizard) relative called the King's Slasher! More specifically descended from the Perentie, they patrol the scrubby sand dunes in search of prey, such as the Scrubwhacker; a descendant of the numbat, though no relation to the Amazonian Bushwhacker halfway across the world; the Sandrat; a crossbreed of the Polynesian rat and the brown rat that thrives in burrows under spiky bushes, and the Rootjumper; a descendant of chevrotain, and one of the few deer species alive at this point in Southeast Asia. While Punchabaloos duke it out on the ground, chattering primates howl their own personal chorus up in the treetops. Enter the Macquings; large, nomadic monkeys that eat fruit, insects, fish, carrion, just about anything that's edible. Descended from the macaques, these adaptable monkeys were able to survive where other species couldn't. They travel in troops of up to 10 or so, and communicate in the canopy with an old trick used with Howler Monkeys back in the present day. Their vocal chords have an extra section of bones around it, creating an expandable pouch that amplifies their loud calls. That in turn makes any and all territorial wars a racket so loud, it can be heard for up to 50 miles! A noted cat species also makes its home here; the Treestalker, a descendant of the Asian golden cat, and common predator of both the treetops and the forest floor, hunting Rootjumpers, Punchaballoos, King's Slasher hatchlings/eggs, and a relation to the hornbill called the Red-Knobbed Spikebill. The only major predator it fears is adult King's Slashers, and that's mostly because they're roughly as long as a coffee table. Out on the dusty plains in the middle of the Australasia, lives the mighty herd animals known as the Tusked Wombats. These common wombat descendants grew to a size closer to their now-extinct relatives, the Diprotodons, with some of their more short-lived competition going extinct by 5 million years. With little fear from major predators, the wombat was free to revert to a bigger, more productive existence, growing 5 inch tusks to dig through the red soil for roots, tubers and fungi. They have no natural predators, and the collision with Southeast Asia gave most major competition the boot, say for a few species. As such, they and the Ankylochidna, a descendant of the short-beaked echidna, will often migrate across the newfound portions of the continent in search of food. Things aren't all sunshine and roses, however; as while adults have no natural predators, their young are vulnerable both to Treestalkers and King Slashers. Not to mention, due to the drier climate, brushfires are a lot more commonplace, making actually finding proper grazing difficult beyond underground plants. Taking over the role that the elephant once had, they breed about the same way, the baby hiding in an expandable pouch until a few days later, when they're able to walk on their own. Also like an elephant, the males will go off on their own to do as a giant male mammal will, while the females look after the kids. This changes during the mating season, however, as Tusked Wombats are known to go into must as the females sound an infrasonic call that can be heard for over 50 miles. Unfortunately, just like with elephants today, this will make the males extremely aggressive. And anyone brave enough or foolish enough approach them will face the wrath of a giant wombat the size of a rhino aiming its sharp tusks right at the victim's torso! Going on to the Ankylochidna for a moment, they're about the size of a small rhino, and have learned to eat small amounts of vegetation as well as the large termite mounds of central Australasia. They travel in small herds of up to four or so, and their young are often attacked by King's Slashers and occasional Treestalkers. But hey, why should the mammals, reptiles and birds have all the fun? Up in the trees, we also have the Parachute Frogs; descended from the infamous flying frogs of Southeast Asia, they've taken flying to the next level by making membranes into outright parachutes! This prevents further injury, and allows for smoother control while in mid-glide. And if caught, they've picked up a trick from the cane toads; a poisonous gland that can only be described as like pure toilet cleaner; unpleasant, and'll probably kill you if not pumped out your stomach immediately! And last, but certainly not least on our tour is a descendant of the modern robber, or coconut crab: the Crookstacean! Roughly the size of a large baseball mitt, they eat mudskippers, fruit, carrion, and pretty much anything edible that washes up on the shores of Australasia. There's so much more I'd love to say, but our tour of the Ice Age world must continue, and this brand new continental peninsula is just a dot on the vast, Ice World we now see. But I guess that's the beauty of this tour; in 5 Million Years time, it's both a time of hardships, and a time of plenty! And there's plenty more where this came from! Category:While We're Gone Category:Future Earth Category:5 Million Years Category:Australasia